Watch Me Shine
by silenced-and-blinded
Summary: **CHAPTER 7 UP!!** Riva is the new girl at Garden. She's a bit klutzy, so she doesn't think she has a chance at EVER being a SeeD. What happens when a group of ambushers kidnaps Garden's best SeeDs? Read and find out!!
1. The New Arrival

Disclaimer: FF8 belongs to Squaresoft, not me…. WAHHH!! 

            I couldn't believe it!  I was finally going to Balamb Garden!  My mom wasn't too keen on it, but my dad helped me convince her to let me go.  After all, I _was _seventeen.

            I got there on a beautiful Friday morning.  The sun was warm and brilliant, and the sky was as blue as the ocean.  As you can tell, I'm an outdoorsy type.

            A few kids were walking around, talking about tests and crushes and other things I really can't remember.  I carried Acid Thunder, my gunblade, at my hip.  A few people pointed, saying how cool or awesome it was.  That made me feel ten feet tall.  I was there five minutes and already loving it.

            I reached the main hall, where I saw the Directory.  I approached it, hoping to find where the headmaster's office was.  I guess I wasn't watching where I was going, because I collided with a very hot blonde haired boy.  We both fell to our rear-ends, him glaring at me coldly.  "I'm really, really sorry," I said apologetically.

            He stood and extended a hand to help me up.  I took it and soon I was back on my feet.  "Just be careful next time."

            I nodded.  "I will."

            He cocked his head to the side quizzically, his emerald eyes looking right through me.  "Haven't see ya before," he commented.

            "Oh!  I'm new here.  The name's Riva Harris."  

            He smiled a bit.  "I'm Seifer Almasy.  You're just a trainee, right?"  He made it sound like a bad thing.

            "Uh… yeah.  I wanna be a SeeD by the end of the year!" I announced proudly.

            He shook his head.  "It's funny.  You look a little old to be a _trainee_," he said.

            Yet again, he insisted on bashing the whole trainee thing.  "Yeah, well… My parents wouldn't let me."

            He chuckled, his eyes sparkling.  "I have to keep my eye on you, then.  You could be a troublemaker."

            I laughed.  "Yeah, sure."

            "Did you go to see the headmaster yet?" he asked.

            I shook my head, my copper hair flowing with the movement.  "No.  I was gonna go look for it right now."

            He motioned to the stairs behind the Directory.  "It's up there."

            "Oh, thanks," I said.  

            "Maybe I'll be seein' ya," he said and he left.

            "Okay, bye!"

            I sighed as I watched him leave.  He certainly was an eyeful.  "This might turn out to be better than I thought," I murmured to myself as I headed for the steps.

Okay… it's short, but it's only the first chapter.  If I get good reviews I'll continue it, but I might continue anyway! ^_^  And if you have any suggestions, let me know.  I wasn't really sure what this story was gonna be about, but I had just finished watching Cadet Kelly on the Disney channel when I got the idea so…. it might turn out to be something like that.  Please review and email me w/ suggestions!!!  I'll luv you forever!!


	2. The Grand Tour

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is Riva.  And… that's about it.

A/N: Thanks to Mirai for giving me the idea for this chapter.  Thank you Mirai! ^_^

            I sat in my dorm, not being able to stop smiling.  If anybody would've seen me lying in there smiling like an idiot to myself, they would've thought I had problems.  I didn't care though.  I was just sooo happy.  Being a Balamb student was something I'd wanted to do since I was little.  Now, here I was!  

            Suddenly, I decided to go take a walk around.  I hadn't done it after I had bumped into Seifer, because I went right to the headmaster's office (His name's Cid).  After I met with him, I went straight to my dorm to get settled.

            I left the dormitory, coming up in the circular main hall that branched off into six other halls, all leading to different areas.  Only problem was, I had no idea where I was going.  I saw signs at the beginning of the hall to the right of me.  Lucky me that everything was labeled.     

            As I made my way to read the sign, I saw a familiar figure walking out.  "Hey, Seifer!" I shouted, waving my arm in the air.  He turned towards me and smiled.  I sprinted over to him.  

            "Like it so far?" he asked.  

            "Definitely!" I replied grinning.  "I was just gonna take a look around."

            He thought a moment.  "You want me to come with you?"

            My jade eyes widened a bit.  "Uh, sure!  I'd love it."

            Seifer looked back at the hall from which he'd come.  "Well, I guess we should start here: the Cafeteria."

            I walked beside him into the Cafeteria, as he warned me of the constant battle for hot dogs.  "If you want any, you have to get here at the crack of dawn.  Sometimes even then they'll be sold out."

            "Geez, that's pretty crazy.  Getting up at 5am for a hot dog?  It's just not worth it.  I'd rather sleep."

            He chuckled.  "Me too, but some people are stupid like that."

            All of a sudden, a boy with spiked blonde hair and a tattoo on the side of his face rushed into the Cafeteria, speeding up to the register.

            "Speaking of stupid…," Seifer muttered to me.

            "Who's that?" I asked.

            "Zell Dincht.  But he prefers to be called 'Chickenwuss'."  

            "Chickenwuss?  And he'd wanna be called that because?"

            Seifer let out a laugh.  "Just call him that and see what happens," he told me.

            "Sorry, Zell.  We're all out," the woman behind the counter said.

            Zell's shoulders slumped.  "Aw man.  Guess I'll have to try again tomorrow."  Zell turned and his eyes met mine.  Then, he saw Seifer standing beside me.  "Morning Chickenwuss," Seifer said.

            "Yeah, hi Chickenwuss!" I said kindly enough.

            He just narrowed his eyes at me.  "What'd you say?!" he shouted.

            "Uh…"

            "I don't need anybody else sayin' that to me!" he exclaimed.

            "Zell, would you relax.  I told her to say it."

            I turned to Seifer angrily.  "You lied to me!"

            He laughed in response.  "Yeah… Sorry 'bout that."  I eventually smiled and let it go.  Zell didn't seem angry with me anymore either.

            "Oh, my name's Riva Harris," I said.  We shook hands.

            "Nice to meet ya, Riva!" he said smiling.

            We talked with Zell for about a minute or so, until Seifer told him we had to leave.  

            As we walked down the circular hall in the main area, I asked, "Where to next?"

            "How about the Training Center?" he asked mischievously.

            I tilted my head to the side questionably.  "What's the Training Center?" I asked.

            "Oh nothing.  Just a place where they have wild monsters running loose to battle.  You wanna try it?"

            "Well… I guess so."  I placed a hand on the handle of my Gunblade.  "Let's go!"

            He led me to another hallway, and when we entered, all I saw was green.  Green grass, green trees, green _everything_.  It was beautiful, but I was also a little scared, because of the monsters Seifer had told me about.  He told me to stay close to him (not like that was hard to do…) as we slowly walked through the Training Center.

            "Ya scared?" he whispered.

            "No," I replied quickly, even though I knew I was lying to him.  I never really battled much before, except for a few Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars here or there.  I wasn't about to tell him that though.

            "Look," he whispered, pointing ahead.  What I saw made me whimper in fright.  A giant dinosaur.  A T-Rexaur to be more exact.  I'd heard about them, but I'd never actually seen one.  Now, I had to fight one. Hopefully, Seifer had enough skill to make up for what I lacked.  "Let's go get 'im."

            I groaned inwardly as I followed Seifer towards the giant beast.  When it saw us, it attacked at once.  "Okay, here we go!" Seifer shouted.

            I giggled nervously.  "Yeah…"

            Seifer slashed at it with his Gunblade.  The T-Rexaur swung its giant tail at him, be missed.  "Your turn!" he called to me.

            I gulped and charged at the creature, my Gunblade connecting with a great deal of power.  I smiled proudly.  Okay, so it wasn't a _really _big deal, but…. Let's just say it was a… personal accomplishment.  The T-Rexaur attempted to hit me with its tail.  Needless to say, it didn't miss _me_.  

            "Hey… you alright?" Seifer asked after he had slashed the T-Rexaur again.

            I got up from my knees.  "Sure.  I'm okay.  He just… got lucky is all."

            Seifer smiled once again.  "Okay."

            I struck it again, and this time, its attack missed.  Before Seifer had a chance to attack, the T-Rexaur snapped at me with its powerful jaw.  It grabbed my arm and lifted me from the ground, shaking violently.  I don't think I had ever been in more pain as the T-Rexaur threw me to the ground and roared.

            "Aw man!"  Seifer ran over to me, picked me up, and bolted for the door.

            My arm was bleeding profusely as we got to the main hall.  He set me down gently.  "You should've told me you couldn't handle a T-Rexaur!" he shouted.

            "I know.  I'm sorry."  I gripped my arm, hoping the next part of the tour consisted of going to the infirmary.  

            "I thought you knew better, _kid_."

            "Kid?!"

            "Yeah.  That's all you are," he said nastily, "A _real_ fighter knows what they can and can't handle."

            I didn't have anything to say to that.  I just didn't want him to be mad at me.  

            "The infirmary's that way," he said pointing behind me.  Then he left.      


	3. Heartbroken

Disclaimer: I only own Riva, nothing else.

A/N: Well, a few people really liked this story, so I'm gonna add another chapter.  If I get more reviews, I'll keep it up.  Thanx! ^_^

            I sat in my dorm, my arm bandaged up, and my head aching something fierce.  Those things didn't bother me though.  What bothered me was that my life in Balamb Garden wasn't turning out exactly the way I had hoped.  Okay, so it was turning out _nothing _like I'd hoped.  Seifer was mad at me, I got hurt, and now I was bored.  I had class that afternoon, but that wasn't for another 45 minutes.  I decided to go take a walk around, now that I knew the place better.

I left Garden entirely, actually.  The old man at the gate asked me for a game of Triple Triad, which I politely declined.  I didn't have my deck with me.  I didn't have very good cards, either.

The sun was still shining and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.  A group of Chocobos was off to the right of me, and I watched them for a while until I saw a figure past them.  I stood, shielding my eyes from the sun, and saw something amazing.  A boy, the same age as me I guessed, was practicing various attacks with his gunblade, all by himself.  

He had a serious look on his handsome face as he executed some difficult looking moves flawlessly.  I sat there on my knees, completely mesmerized by what he was doing.  The wind blew his russet mane gently and he seemed to be in his own, peaceful world.  My head tilted to the side a bit as I continued to watch him intently.

I stood up and began to make my way towards him.  He was so incredible that I just _had _to talk to him, whether it was just a "hi" or a whole conversation.  

He stopped what he had been doing and leaned his gunblade up against a nearby tree.  When I walked up to him, I found he was even better looking than I thought.  He had eyes like steel that seemed to look right through you.

"Hi," I said smiling up at him.

He didn't say anything and just nodded.

"I, uh… I was watching you.  You're really good with that."  I motioned to the gunblade.

"Oh, thanks."  I knew right away he wasn't one to talk much.  It sort of made me like him more though.

"I'm Riva Harris.  I just got here this morning."

"Squall Leonheart."  We shook hands kind of awkwardly.  I guess we were both a little shy.

"Nice to meet you, Squall," I said with a smile.  He did too.  "I use a gunblade too, although…. I'm not quite as good as you are."

"I'm not _that_ good…"  He turned around and picked up his weapon.

I patted his shoulder.  "Sure you are!  Go ahead.  Do it again."

He looked back at me with a raised eyebrow.  "Do what again?"

I shrugged.  "I dunno.  Just… just do what you were doing before."

He hesitated a bit, and then gave a nod.  "Okay then."  He began slashing at the air, spinning and turning as he did.  There were a few times when I thought he was gonna stumble or trip, but he didn't screw up once.  I'd never seen anything like it.  He saw me standing there with my eyes wide, and let out a light chuckle.  "Wow…  Could you… could you show me how to do that?" I asked breathlessly.

He nodded.  "Alright."  He came over and handed me his gunblade, which was a lot heavier than mine was.  I tried to hold it up straight, but it kept tipping forward, and soon enough, it slid right out of my hands.  Needless to say, I felt really, really stupid.  He didn't seem to mind how klutzy I was.

He picked it up and went around behind me.  He put his arms around me and held the gunblade firmly in my hands.  "You think you got it?" he asked.

"Uh… I… I don't know…"  I _hated _it when that happened!  Every time I get nervous, I stutter like an idiot!  I could've kicked myself!

He let go of my hands, and I was able to hold up the powerful blade.  "There," he said.  "Now, swing it once, turn to the left a bit, then swing again."

I looked at him, thunderstruck.  "You want me to do what?"

He chuckled again, taking his gunblade away from me.  "This."  He wung it once, turned to the left a bit, then swung again.  He handed it back to me.  "Now you try it."

"Okay…"  I swung, turned to the left…. and dropped the gunblade.  "Oops…"  I picked it up and handed it back to him.  "Maybe I should give this back.  I'm… not that good, am I?"

He shrugged.  "You will be if you practice."

I smiled and gave a nod.  I was just about to ask him if he wanted to come with me for a quick walk before class when a beautiful dark haired girl came sprinting up to us.  "Hi Squall!" she said as she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.  She then turned to me.  "Hi!  I'm Rinoa!"  She extended her hand and I took it.

"I'm Riva.  Nice to meet you," I said as politely as I could.  Was she his girlfriend?  After they had kissed like that, I had to assume she was.

I felt like I had been punched in the gut – hard.  The first guy I liked was mad at me, and the second nice guy I met was already claimed.  Man oh man, I was _not _having a good day!  "Well, I guess I'll talk to you guys later.  I have to get to class."  I turned and headed for the second floor classroom, with a broken heart I might add.

Well?  Did you love it?  Hate it?  Have suggestions or comment?  Puppies and kitties?  I'll take anything, just pls review!!!  Thanx!!  ^_^ 

  
  



	4. Let's Make A Date

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and all of its characters aren't mine.  I only own Riva Harris.

A/N: People seemed to like this, so here's the next chapter!  Enjoy!!

            Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck as I walked to the elevator.  Class started in about five minutes, and I was positive I would do something totally stupid.  I always did whenever I met new people.  Remember what happened with Seifer?  Yeah, I walked into him.  And Squall?  I kept dropping the damn gunblade.  Yeah, I guess you could say I'm a bit klutzy.  I always was, and I probably always will be.

            I stepped into the elevator and saw Zell standing there.  "Hi Riva!" he said cheerfully.

            "Oh, hey Zell," I said in a more depressing voice.

            "What's wrong?" he asked leaning up against the wall of the elevator.

            "Nothing.  It's just that I have to go to class, and I'm a little nervous."

            He let out a laugh and slapped me on the back playfully.  "Don't be nervous!  You'll be fine."

            I laughed to convince him he'd made me feel better.  "Thanks Zell.  I know I will," I said, "Are you going to class too?"

            He shook his head.  "No.  SeeDs don't get classes.  I'm just going to play a game of cards with someone up there."

            I tried not to look disappointed.  "Oh…"  I guess I didn't do a very good job.  I was gonna feel pretty funny not knowing anybody in the class.

            The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.  We walked down the long hall at the same pace and when we reached the end of it, we parted ways with a 'see ya later'.  The bell rang just as I stepped in the door.

            A few people were already seated, but there were quite a few empty desks as well.  No instructor stood at the front of the room, or sat at the desk, so I was safe for now.  Usually, the instructor would make a new student stand up in front of the class and 'say a few words about themselves'.  I most definitely did _not _want to go through that.  It was so stupid.

            I saw an empty desk beside a kind looking girl and walked over to it.  "Does anybody sit here?" I asked quietly.

            She looked up and smiled.  "No, no one sits there.  Take it."  She began scribbling furiously on a paper again.  I sat down and continued to watch her write at a fast speed.

            "What are you doing?" I asked.

            She glanced over at me, then began to write again.  "It's last night's homework assignment.  I… didn't quite finish it," she said.  After a few more moments of writing, she set down her pen and gave a sigh.  "There.  Done."  She turned in her chair to face me.  "So, you're new here, aren't ya?"

            "Yeah.  I'm Riva Harris."

            She smiled.  "My name's Sade Prodley.  Nice to meet ya."

            "Who's the instructor?" I asked looking around.  I still didn't see an instructor.

            "Oh, she's really nice, so don't worry.  You don't have a devil for a teacher," Sade said with a laugh.

            I almost sighed with relief.  "That's good."

            "Oh, here she comes now."  A woman no older than thirty came striding into the room.  She had long copper hair that was pulled back into a loose bun, and a long simple blue dress on.  She was beautiful.

            "Good morning everyone!" she said cheerfully.  "Has anyone seen our new student?  She – Oh!  There you are!  Hello sweetheart.  What's your name?"

            "I'm… I'm Riva Harris."  There I go again – stuttering like a doof.  

            "Welcome to our class!  My name is Instructor Jakobs.  Very nice to meet you.  Did you find the room easily?"

            "Yes ma'am, I did," I replied.  I felt comfortable already.  

            "That's good.  I'll get back to you in a minute.  Now class, I want you to pass your homework up to the front.  It will count as a quiz score."  A few people let out groans, but Sade turned to me grinning.

            "Good thing I did it, huh?" she whispered.

            I smiled in return.  "Unless it's graded on neatness…"  We both laughed.

~*~*~*~

            Sade and I left the room, both of us laughing.  I looked across the hall and saw Seifer standing there, leaning against the wall.  Had he been waiting for me?  No, he was mad at me.  Why would he do that?  I stopped walking and Sade did also.  "Oooh, your boyfriend?" she asked slowly.

            I glanced over at her, then back at Seifer.  "No way!  I… I never saw him before.  I don't know who he is.  Let's just go."  I pushed her to make her walk, but she stayed put.

            "Riva!  Quit it!" she shouted.

            Seifer began walking over.  "Now look what you did!  You're making him come over 'cause of your big mouth!"  I know I was being a little rude, but Sade didn't seem to care.

            "Who cares?  You don't know him!"  I sighed as Seifer approached us.

            "How was class?" he asked almost sarcastically.

            "Seifer, if you came just to pick on me, I don't wanna talk to you."

            "My, my.  We're in a bad mood today aren't we?" he asked mockingly.

            I sighed and started to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist, chuckling.  "I didn't mean it like that, Riva.  Seriously, how was class?"

            "Fine."

            "A little more detail?" he asked persistently.

            "No."

            "Alright then.  Maybe you'd feel better later.  Say about… eight?"

            "What, are you trying to make a date with me?" I asked suspiciously.  Inside I was screaming.  I knew that's what he was doing, but I didn't wanna give in _that _easily.  Not after what he had put me through.

            "No," he said slowly.  "I just wanna… know more about you…"  He smirked, his green eyes gleaming.

            "So… it's a date," Sade chimed in.  I threw her a glare.

            Seifer shrugged.  "Call it what ya want…," he said, "You wanna come with me?"

            I thought a bit.  "Okay.  I'll meet you at the front gate at eight, then."

            He gave a nod.  "See you then."  And he walked away.

I know this is short, but it's just getting started.  Pls review!!!!!  


	5. Is This Love?

Disclaimer: Nope.  I don't own FF8 or any of its characters.  I only own Riva.

A/N: A lot of ppl told me this is a good story, and that's why I'm keeping up w/ it (or at least I'm tryin to!)  This story is kinda boring right now, I'll even admit it.  But as it continues, it'll be loaded w/ action, so stay tuned!!

A/N 2: O yah, I just wanted to say that the name 'Riva' actually came from the original name of my uncle and his fiancé's cat.  Now she's called 'Hayley', but that's another story… ^_^  On with the show!!

            It was ten to eight as I walked to the front gate by myself.  Seifer wanted to…. get to know me better?  What for?  What you see is what you get.  There's not really much more to me than what you know the first time you meet me.  After tonight, he'd understand that.  He might even get bored talking to me.  Even if he did, it didn't matter.  I came to Balamb Garden to become a SeeD, not to find the love of my life.

            As I approached the front gate, I saw Seifer's shadow in the distance.  He was leaning up against the wall again, but he was facing the opposite way.  Then I saw he was watching a little group of birds that were hopping around on the ground in search of food.

            "Bird watching, are we?" I asked as I came up behind him.  He turned to me and smiled kindly.

            "Not really…"  He almost sounded embarrassed.

            "I like bird watching too.  My mom was the one who got me involved in it.  She always liked them."

            "Interesting…" he said.  I thought he was being sarcastic, but it turned out he wasn't.  "What else is there about you for me to know?"

            I shrugged.  "I dunno…  What do you wanna know?"

            He started walking out of Garden, and I followed him.  "What you like to do, where you're from, you know.  Stuff like that."

            "Okay then.  I like to… well, I like to go to the beach.  And I like to dance, and fish…"

            "What a coincidence!" he exclaimed, "So do I."

            "We'll have to go sometime, then," I said.  Little did I know he would jump at the idea.

            "What about now?" he suggested.  "We can rent some poles and go down to one of the docks by the lake."

            I tossed the idea around for a bit.  "Okay.  Let's do it, then."

            I didn't expect to have as much fun with Seifer as I did.  Even walking to the rental shop was enjoyable.  He kept talking about life at Garden, and then he'd let me have a turn to tell him something.  I was surprised that I didn't even make a stupid mistake once.   

            "So what about you?" he asked as the rental shop came into view.  "What made you come here?"

            "I always thought it was fascinating to watch soldiers fight.  I was the only girl in my entire family after my cousin died when she was ten, so I had to adjust my likings to whatever the boys' were.  I just didn't think I could adjust _so_ well."

            "You say your cousin died?" he asked in a serious tone.

            I nodded.  "She was killed by a monster in a field.  I think it was a Behemoth or Chimera or something like that."

            "Sorry," he said simply.

            "It's okay.  I _really _miss her though, now that I'm thinking about her.  We were practically sisters."

            He put his arm around me as tears welled up in my eyes.  "It's okay to miss her, you know," he said gently.

            I didn't cry, but I had started to.  "I know."

            We entered the rental shop and got two poles and a cup of worms.  "Think this is enough?" Seifer asked holding the open cup under my nose.

            I pushed it away gently.  "It's plenty…" I said queasily.

            He smiled at my displeasure.  "All right, then.  I'll be right back."  He went up to the clerk to pay and then came back to me.  "Ready?" he asked handing me one of the poles. 

            I gave a nod and smiled.  "Yep!"

~*~*~*~

            We sat side by side with our legs dangling over the side of the dock, fishing poles in hand, waiting for a bite.  In the meantime, we talked some more.  

            "Never thought I'd meet a girl who could put her own worm on her hook," he said smiling at me.

            I laughed.  "I've had lots of practice."  He laughed too.

            "You ever get any big ones?" he asked as he bounced the pole up and down impatiently.

            "Yes, but _you _won't if you don't stop moving it around like that!" I said as I held his wrists still.

            "Yes ma'am.  I'll follow your rules more closely next time."  He threw me a smirk.

            "Ha ha, very funny," I replied as I looked back out into the lake.

            Suddenly, he began reeling in the line furiously.  "Hey, I got somethin'!" he exclaimed.  He stood up and reeled still, a huge grin on his face.

            I dropped my pole and stood as well, waiting to see a large fish on the end of the line from the way he was reeling.  Out of the water came a boot.  A big busted up boot.  He stood with a vacant look on his face as it spun on the hook.

            I looked over at him as laughter erupted inside of me.  I began rolling with it, and couldn't stop.  Tears were in my eyes before he had gotten the boot off the hook and had tossed it back into the water.  "It's not _that_ funny!" he shouted as he threw his pole to the ground.

            I tried to speak through my laughter.  "Y…. Yes it was!!"  I busted out in laughter once again, and soon, he did too.

            When we finally stopped, both of our eyes were filled with tears.  "I can't believe you did that!" I cried.

            "You know I've heard of that happening, but I never believed it 'til now."

            "Wonders never cease," I commented.

~*~*~*~

            I'm not sure what time it was, but I'm guessing it was pretty late when Seifer and I slowly made our way back to Garden.  I kept wondering if we were gonna get in trouble for waltzing in so late, but I guess we wouldn't.  Seifer didn't seem to care at least.  

            "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said as we approached the dormitory.  Our dorms we pretty far apart.

            "Guess so."

            Neither of us parted ways, and I wasn't sure why, until Seifer leaned down to kiss me.  "'Night," he said softly as he walked away.

            "Uh… goodnight…" I said back dreamily.

What did you think?  Is it less boring now with a little love connection goin on?  ^_~  Anyway, pls review.  The next chapter will be up shortly.  C-ya!


	6. Disagreements

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me 'cept Riva.

A/N: Well, I did have lots more reviews for this, but something got screwed up and I lost them all.  Pls review this, and pls check out my other stories as well, but you'll have to search for them by title cuz my bio page isn't working for some reason.  Here are my stories so far:

1) Beautiful Misery – FF8

2) Galerians: In The End – Misc. RPG

3) Painful Blood – FF8

4) The FFX And FFVIII Song Contest – FF8

5) Ties To The Past – FFX

6) Whose Line Is It Anyway: FFX Style – FFX

7) And this one!

Pls check them out and review so's I can get all my reviews back (the song contest had 64!).  After my shameless plugging, on with Watch Me Shine!

A/N 2: Thanx soooo much to my good friend Angel Greenleaf for the plot of this chapter.  Lylas Angel!!!

            I was still struggling with wondering how Seifer had grown to like me so much in such a short amount of time.  That's also a reason why I kept wondering if it was just a show, and that what he acted like was a total mirror image of how he truly felt.  Thinking about our so-called "date" made me smile, but it also made me uneasy.  What if he was making a fool out of me?  Well, there's no way in hell that was going to happen.  Nobody, and I mean _nobody _makes a fool outta me!

            My field exam was in a day and a half, and I was really, really scared.  SeeDs would be there to back me and my team members up, but now screwing up would mean much more than not becoming a legendary member of SeeD, but now, my love life was at stake.  Not that you could really call it a _love life_, but it was something along those lines at least.  Would Seifer think any less of me if I didn't have what it took to be a SeeD like he was?

            I was contemplating this for a while in my dorm until I remembered I had promised to meet with Selphie, a SeeD who Seifer had introduced me to that morning, at the cafeteria for lunch.  I quickly threw on my sneakers and bolted for the cafeteria.

            "Hi Riva!" Selphie cried waving me over to her table where Zell and Squall were seated as well.  I walked over slowly, mostly due to the fact that I would be in Squall's company.  He must've thought I was so incredibly stupid!  Surprisingly enough, he just smiled and said hello, just like everyone else did.

            As I sat down, Selphie began to chatter excitedly.  Suddenly, she asked a question that brought everyone at the table to a complete silence.  "Seifer told me you and him went out last night.  What'd you guys do anyway?"

            "Well…. We, um, we went fishing for a while.  That's all," I said uncomfortably.  

            Everyone just sort of stared at me for a moment.  "So… it was…. like a date?" Zell asked sounding confused.

            "Well, not necessarily.  We just…."

            "How could you be in love with _Seifer_?" Squall asked sharply.  

            Selphie nodded her agreement.  "Yeah.  He's not exactly boyfriend material if you know what I mean."

            "Says who?" I asked glancing at each of them.

            "Almost everyone.  The guy's rude and inconsiderate, and not to mention downright mean," Zell said, "And I'm only understating."

            They couldn't be talking about _my _Seifer, could they?  He wasn't rude at all, or mean for that matter.  Okay, so maybe he could be a bit teasing sometimes, but it was all in good fun.  I never took anything he said to heart.  In fact, he'd been really, really sweet.  I enjoyed being with him.  No way.  They were most definitely _not_ talking about the Seifer I knew.

            "How can you say that?" I asked, "He's a wonderful person.  He isn't mean or inconsiderate at all!"  I didn't want to make a big scene, especially since I saw Rinoa coming over to our table.  

            She gave Squall a quick kiss before sitting in the empty seat between the two of us.  "Hey everyone!" she said cheerily.

            She glanced over at me, noticing my hurt expression right away.  "What's the matter?" she asked me gently.

            Squall answered for me in a cold manner.  "She's going out with Seifer."

            Rinoa looked back at me, and I expected her to say something along the lines of what everyone else had said, but she didn't.  She smiled, in fact.  "I think that's sweet!"

            "How can you think it's _sweet_?" Squall asked quietly.

            Rinoa gave him a gentle slap on the shoulder.  "It _is _sweet!  Now Seifer has somebody to be there for him, and to love.  Everyone deserves to be loved Squall."

She was very serious when she spoke to him.  He didn't respond.  "Maybe you should try to be a little more sensitive," Rinoa added.

            All of a sudden, I felt a light pressure on the top of my head.  I tilted my head backwards and saw Seifer standing over me, smiling affectionately.  I smiled too, although I didn't want anyone else to see.  The pressure I had felt had been him kissing me on the head.  It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen, and only Rinoa seemed to agree with me.

            No one said anything as Seifer pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat beside me.  "Hi," I said quietly.

            He didn't seem to care about anyone else being there.  "Hey," he replied in a normal volume voice.

            "What do you want?" Zell asked in a snarly tone.  Squall seemed to have been wondering the exact same thing.

            "What's it to ya, Chickenwuss?" Seifer asked with a smirk.

            "I don't feel like throwing my lunch back up after seein' your face!" Zell shouted back.

            I looked over at Seifer, a confused look on my face.  How could they be so awful to him?  Seifer didn't even say anything and he was already being harassed.  Seifer only chuckled at Zell's remark.

            "Good one, Chickenwuss.  How long did it take you to think that one up?"  I smiled.  I was glad Seifer was holding his ground.

            Zell pounded his fist on the table, but said nothing more.  Seifer glanced over at me, a proud smile on his handsome face.  It was almost as if he'd been showing off in front of me.  It made me feel good, and I liked the way it felt to be around him.

            All of a sudden, all the Garden sirens went off and Headmaster Cid's voice was heard over the loudspeaker.  "Attention all SeeDs!  Head to the Front Gate and the Quad!  We've been attacked!"

YAY!!!  The good part's comin' up.  Will Seifer book on Riva just cuz he's a SeeD, or will he stay with her and get her to safety b4 he goes to battle?  Find out in the next chapter!!  R&R pls!!!!!!


	7. Confrontations

Disclaimer: I don't own FF8 or any of its characters.  I only own Riva.

A/N: Here's chapter 7 for those of you who are waiting for it!

            Everyone shot up out of their seats simultaneously.  They raced toward the door as I sat there, not knowing what in the name of Hyne to do.  Seifer stood too, but he wasn't leaving.  He turned to me, pulling me to my feet by the hand.  "I want you to go to the library and don't leave there until I come get you, okay?"

            "But, Seifer…"

            "Just do it!" he barked and headed out the cafeteria doors.  

            I was about to yell out to him, but he wouldn't have heard me anyway.  What was going on?  I found it baffling how one minute everything was so calm and peaceful and the next, it was total chaos.  Did things like this _always _happen at Garden?  I sure hoped not.

            I raced out the cafeteria doors as well and made my way as fast as I could to the library.  As I did, members of Garden were busy fighting off other soldiers, who were dressed in sleek black and gray uniforms.  Black masks covered their faces as well.

            It made me angry that Seifer told me to go to the library.  Did he think I couldn't fight?  Well…. Maybe he was right….  After what had happened in the training center, I couldn't really blame him.  I decided to just do as he said, and wait for him to come get me.  Even though I hated the idea, of course.

            I bounded into the open library doors, and found Zell, fist fighting with a masked soldier.  "Riva!" he shouted.

            I wasn't going to just sit around and let Zell fight on his own, so I grabbed a nearby chair and lifted it up and over my head, letting it crash down onto Zell's attacker.  Zell leaned on his knees, panting heavily.  "Thanks…" he said with a smile.

            "Hey, you would've done it for me, right?" I asked.

            He nodded.  "Sure thing!" 

            All of a sudden, a large group of soldiers crashed through the windows.  This time though, they were armed with weapons.  Guns, knives, clubs, the whole nine yards.  "Aw shit!" Zell shouted as two came after him.

            A bunch of them, I can't really remember how many exactly, came after me as well.  I don't remember anything about them hurting me either, except for the fact that one of them hit me in the back of the head with something very hard, and very heavy.

~*~*~*~

            When I woke up, however many minutes or hours later it was, I found the library to be quiet.  All I heard outside the room was footsteps and an occasional shout.  

            I had been lying on my side, so I rolled onto my hands and knees and tried to stand.  It's not like it did me any good – I collapsed as soon as I did.  Besides in the head, they had to have given me a few goods whacks in other places as well.  I could at least sit up, so that's what I did.

            Wait a minute… where was Zell?  He had been in the library with me when those men crashed in.  Did anything… happen to him?  My eyes searched around the perimeter of the room for any signs of life, but there was no one there.  I was alone.

            And what about Seifer?  What happened to him?  He was supposed to come get me, but he didn't.  Had he forgotten about me?  No way.  He wouldn't do something like that.  But thinking about what Squall, Zell and Selphie said before in the cafeteria, it made me wonder – about a lot of things.  About whether or not Seifer really cared about me, and whether or not I was being used.  

            A masked soldier entering the library interrupted my thoughts.  He made his way further into the room slowly.  I held my breath, wondering if he would spy me sitting on the floor against the far wall.  To my alarm, he did, and made his way quickly and silently over to me.  He aimed his rifle at my face.

            I stared straight up into the eyes of his mask.  I didn't move; I didn't even breathe.  He spoke in a language unknown to me.  "Ziv blf drgs Tziwvm?"

            I furrowed my brow.  "Wh-what?"

            "Ziv blf drgs Tziwvm?" he repeated.

            I shook my head, not understanding a word he said.  "I don't… I don't understand you…"

            He shook his head, obviously disgusted with my stupidity.  "R szev ml grnv uli blf."  He turned and ran off.

            Now, I was confused.  What had that guy said to me?  Why didn't he kill me?  Where were Seifer and Zell?  And what in the name of Hyne was going on?!  I stood up, although it killed me to do so, and made my way outside into the main hall.  You could've heard a pin drop, that's how quiet it was.

You like?  Where are Seifer and Zell?  Dead?  Haha, wouldn't you like to know?  Guess you'll just have to wait and see…..  Til then, leave me a review, and I'll cya when I cya!  ^_~  Oh yeah, and in case you wanted to decode what that soldier said to Riva, here's the chart:

**Their letters   =   Our letters**

Z                                  A

Y                                 B

X                                 C

W                                D

V                                 E

U                                 F

T                                  G

S                                  H

R                                  I

Q                                 J

P                                  K

O                                 L

N                                 M

M                                 N

L                                  O

K                                 P

J                                   Q

I                                   R

H                                 S

G                                 T

F                                  U

E                                  V

D                                 W

C                                 X

B                                  Y

A                                 Z


End file.
